Dell Inspiron 15 3000 3543, 3542, 3541 RAM & Hard Drive Upgrade Guide

The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 is currently one of the best selling models among Windows-based laptops. Regarding system memory and hard drive upgrades, the 15 3000, or more precisely the 3543, 3542, and 3541, is very user-friendly. To access RAM and HDD, you just need to remove the plastic cover on the bottom of the chassis. The cover is held by only one screw, so doing operations such as replacing the pre-installed RAM or replacing pre-installed HDD with a solid state drive is a breeze.

However, the notebook has only one memory slot, so you won’t be able to have more than 8GB RAM. It is the largest capacity on the RAM modules currently available on the market. The notebook supports DDR3L PC3L-12800 (1600MHz) SODIMM memory in the 204-pin form factor. As for storage, the bay is designed for 2.5-inch hard drives and solid state drives with SATA interface supporting up to 6 Gbps speed (SATA 3).

Before replacing the components, make sure your laptop is turned off, the battery is removed, and you’re grounded.

Once you’ve removed the base cover, to replace the existing memory module you’ll just need to pry apart the securing clips on the left and right sides of the memory slot until the module pops up and then you can take it out. To insert a new module, align the notch on it with the tab on the memory slot, slide the module into the slot at an angle, and press the module down until it clicks into place.

To install a new hard drive or solid state drive, remove the screw that secures the hard-drive assembly to the laptop base. Using the pull tab, slide the HDD assembly to disconnect it from the system board and take the assembly out of the computer base. Remove the screws that secure the hard-drive bracket to the hard drive, take the drive out and peel the Mylar sheet off. Put your new HDD or SSD in the bracket, adhere the Mylar sheet to it, put back the screws, place the assembly in the laptop, connect the drive connector to the system board connector, and put back the screw that secures the assembly to the laptop base.

Hey there, I have question to you. I have Dell 15 series 3000 model. it’s 30,000 rupees of. and It has 4-GB RAM ,1-TB HDD. And now I want to more expand RAM so, how much size of RAM I will be able to expand it.

i am using dell Inspiron 15 3567 (i7) with 8 GB ram. if i buy a Samsung 970 Evo Series – 250GB PCIE NVME – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7E250BW) to the slower HDD do i get the speed of PCIE NVME drive ssd?? or only get a sata interface speed
answer plss

Are you sure your laptop has an M.2 SSD slot? As far as I know, the Inspiron 15 3567 doesn’t have an M.2 SSD slot, so you can’t add that SSD besides the existing HDD.

Generally, if you add an SSD (PCIE NVME or SATA) to a laptop which already has HDD, files and programs stored on the SSD will run faster. If the notebook and SSD support PCIE NVME, speed will be faster than with SATA SSD. Files and programs stored on the HDD will run on slower HDD (SATA) speeds. A good practice in that situation is to install Windows and programs on SSD and put rarely accessed files on the HDD.

Hello Bro,
I have Dell i3 6006U 6th gen inspiron 15 3567 model laptop. I want to know that how many slot have for RAM and SSD in my laptop. I want to add new RAM and SSD. Currently it has HDD 5400rpm. I want to add not replace. is it possible? please know me if two slot of RAM. can I use both or need to replace current slot.
how many ram max I can use.

Hi, as per the Dell Inspirion 3567 service manual, there are two RAM slots:https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/inspiron-15-3567-laptop_service-manual_en-us.pdf
I don’t know if both of your slots are populated. Do you have for instance 1 x 8GB or 2 x 4GB inside. If you have a single RAM module, than you can just insert a compatible RAM module in the second slot. Otherwise, you’ll need to take out one or both RAM modules and replace it with more capacious ones.
As for storage, the laptop has a single 2.5″ storage bay (populated with your HDD). It has no M.2 slot for SSDs. You can only get a DVD caddy (adapter) to replace your DVD drive with an 2.5″ SSD SATA drive.

Hi,
I’m using del Inspiron 3543 8gb ram, I wan to buy a crucial mx500 250 GB SSD for my laptop and I want to put that SSD in main hard disk slot and replace hard disk to optical drive slot. Is it better way or is there any other ways to improve performance, Is my laptop support crucial mx500 SSD

In your case, upgrading HDD to SSD is the best way to improve performance. Difference will be great. Your laptop supports Crucial MX500, but only SATA 2.5″ version of it. There’s also M.2 MX500, but it isn’t supported in the 3543.

Thanks for the tutorial, I have installed the ssd in the place of hdd, and have hdd in optical bay drive, is it better to place them other way round?? so the hdd will be safe inside and robust ssd can stick in the optical bay drive slot?

Yes, it does make sense safety-wise, because the optical bay isn’t meant to be used for internal 2.5″ drives and HDDs are more prone to physical damage than SSDs. But I would also take into consideration where the OS is installed. For better performance it should be installed on the SSD. So from that point of view, it is maybe better to have your OS on the SSD drive in the safer 2.5″ bay and less important files on the HDD in the DVD bay.

Hi, Thanks for the article. I also have a Dell 15 3000 series and the 4gb is way too slow. It is running win 10 at the moment.
I’m just wondering if I can use Crucial 16GB Single DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) 204-Pin SODIMM Memory to upgrade the RAM.
Thanks again,

Hi, I have checked Crucial website and it appears the older Dell 15 3000 series with DDR3L memory support only up to 8GB sticks. There’s no a 16GB option for them. Only newer 15 3000 3567 supports 16GB DDR4. I remember that back in 2014/2015, when the 15 3000 series laptops were released, that their motherboards were lacking support for 16GB RAM sticks. I don’t know if later BIOS updates added support for it. It’s maybe the best option to contact Dell’s support and ask about that. Regards!

Hi,
I’m using del Inspiron 3543 8gb ram, I wan to buy a crucial mx500 250 GB SSD for my laptop and I want to put that SSD in main hard disk slot and replace hard disk to optical drive slot. Is it better way or is there any other ways to improve performance, Is my laptop support crucial mx500 SSD

I have an old dell inspiron 3542 with i3,4gb ram, 512gb hdd, 2gb nvidia 820m,windows 8.1
-Is there any m.2 ssd port on this laptop and will a 2.5 inch ssd fit in it ?
-Is there a need of reinstalling windows & drivers if i upgrade to new ssd or can i just copy files ?
-How many ram slots are there and can i upgrade ram to 16gb ?

The laptop doesn’t have an M.2 SSD slot and M.2 generally isn’t compatible with 2.5″ SSDs. You can only replace your existing HDD with a 2.5″ SSD. That requires either re-installation of Windows or cloning the hard drive and copying it on a new SSD. The laptop has only one RAM slot. I can’t confirm whether 16GB single RAM modules are supported by the motherboard or not. A compatible 8GB RAM module is supported for sure.

The 3567 has two RAM slots. So if you have only one slot populated (most likely that’s the case) than you can add another 4GB. As for HDD the laptop has a single HDD bay, so you can’t add another one. But, you can buy a compatible optical drive HDD caddy and put a HDD in it. That basically replaces your DVD drive with an HDD drive.

It should help definitely, because you have only 2GB RAM. But, you will have to get a compatible RAM module. I think it’s DDR3L RAM, although I don’t know for sure about your particular laptop. You should check whether it’s DDR3 or DDR3L. Also, your Windows 10 should be a 64-bit version in order to recognize more than 3.5GB RAM. 8GB RAM will work under 32-bit Windows, but you won’t be able to use more than around 3.5GB. Another important thing is to check whether your processor supports 8GB RAM, I don’t know what model you have, but it probably does support 8GB.

You could take the DVD drive out and put the sata SSD there. As for m.2 you might be able to put one in the WiFi card slot and use Ethernet instead but it might not work as I don’t know what kind of port the wifi card uses

I have a Dell 3541 series laptop. Just upgraded to a SSD drive, performance has increased. The RAM is at the MAX, 8gb, would a different brand help performance? Also, what upgrade could I add to improve the WLAN module in the bottom? Is there aftermarket that will fit?

A different RAM brand won’t noticeably improve performance, even if it has better memory specs (RAM speed, latency, etc). As for the WLAN card, you probably have an 802.11N card built-in. It’s a replaceable mini PCIe card, so you can for instance put a 802.11AC mini PCIe card in for improved wireless speed and range. But, you will have to use it with an 802.11AC router to actually get these improvements.

Hey awesome Article. The explanation was easy and very useful for me.
I recently bought Kingston 240GB SSD for my Dell Inspiron 3542.
Could you explain me how can i clone my previous HDD in the SSD so that i dont have to install the windows as well as the programs from scratch?

Cloning of a laptop hard drive to SSD can be done with cloning software and adapter (or storage enclosure) from USB to data interface (i.e. SATA, M.2…) on your SSD. You can install cloning software, such as the popular EaseUS Todo Backup Free or Macrium Reflect Free or other, on your existing HDD. Then connect the SSD via USB and use installed cloning software to clone the HDD to SSD. Make sure your used storage space on HDD is not larger than your SSD capacity. After cloning is done, you can then physically put the SSD in your laptop. That’s a general explanation. I hope it helps.

Hi, I have no info on whether the Dell 15 3000 supports these large SSDs. It’s very uncommon to put a pricey 1TB or larger SSD in a budget laptop like the 15 3000, so that’s probably why there’s no info online about that combination. I’m however sure you can use an SSD with up to 512GB capacity inside this laptop.

What model do you have? Is it 15 3000 3543, 3542, 3541, or some other model? If you have one of the above and you currently use 4GB RAM, you can replace that module with 8GB. But, it’s not certain whether your laptop will work faster, since many other factors play a role in speed. Primarily the processor and storage (HDD or SSD).

Sir I have a dell inspiron 3542. I want to change my hard drive from toshiba 1TB 5400rpm 5v 1.0A to HGST 1TB 7200rpm 5v 800mA hard drive. I want to know this HGST hard drive will support my laptop?? The voltage and the rpm is differnt from factory fitted one.

Sir,presently I’m using Dell Inspiron 15 3000 series preloaded with 4gb ram,1tb hard disk,2gb graphics.As I’m training on SAP the complieing time is too slow so I decided to upgrade the RAM. Suggest the best one and the GB too ,upto which extend it can be upgraded.
Regards,
Kundan.

Can you tell whether you have a SSD or hard drive inside and what’s your RAM size? Upgrading to an SDD if you’re currently running your system on HDD would be the greatest improvement you can get in this case. Also, upgrading RAM to 8GB if you have only 4GB might help. Besides that, you can check in Windows Task Manager if there’s any software process that chokes your system.

The i5 processor you have is a great one for all usual computing tasks.

Everyone keeps talking about the second tab on the back. Mine doesn’t have one. I’ve unscrewed literally every screw on the back of my laptop and I still can’t open it. It says 3000 series but the only things I keep finding are for some tab in the back that mine doesn’t have so what do I do?

I require laptop for mainly coding-development work, playing hd movies/songs, playing PC games occasionally. My top most priority is high performance (without or less hanging/freezing issue) without causing overheating.

I heard i5-5200U/4210U is better than i3-5005U in terms of performance. But the laptop with i5 comes at much costlier than i3. Do you think paying extra bucks for 5th gen i5 really worth it in terms of performance?

Among these 3 processors, the i5-4210U should be avoided because of weaker graphics than on the newer i5-5200U and i3-5005U. As for CPU performance, difference between the i5 and i3 should be only slightly noticeable in most tasks, except heavy stuff like converting video files where the i5 has advantage. Getting 8GB of RAM will help a lot if you utilize more than 4GB (such as running multiple apps and browser tabs at the same time). Otherwise, the difference won’t be noticeable, no matter what CPU is used. More about RAM usage here: https://laptoping.com/laptop-pc-ram-size-and-performance-explained.html

Hi Daniel! I found this info of immense use as I am thinking to upgrade RAM of my Inspiron 15 3541.However, I have a question on OS.If I replace my existing RAM of 2gb with 8gb, do I need to install/reactivate with OS.basically anything to do with software is required or not after changing RAM? Thanks.

No action on software end is required for RAM upgrades.But keep in mind that if you have a 32-bit OS version instead of 64-bit, you won’t be able to utilize 8GB of RAM. A 32-bit OS will recognize only ~4GB out of 8GB.

I have a recent purchased Dell 15 3000. Where is the RAM located on this machine. It has a solid bottom except for battery. I want to install more RAM, which I have bought from Crucial and I understand there is an open bay for it. Is it accessed under the keyboard?

I’ve been trying to find the same thing. It seems like Dell has redesigned the machine as every blog I look at suggests that solid bottoms are not a thing for Dell (Mine is an Inspiron 15 3558)- I’m wondering if we have to take the entire bottom off. Did you ever figure this out?

The guide on this page is for the 3543, 3542, 3541 Inspiron 3000 models. The 3558 has different chassis design. It’s much harder to access RAM and storage for upgrades, since you have to remove the keyboard, optical drive (if present on the model) and many screws in order to remove the one-piece bottom of the chassis. You can find 3558 RAM upgrade instructions in its Service Manual on Dell.com.

Hi
I got an Inspiron 3543 with the i7-5500U CPU @ 2.40GHz CPU
i want to upgrade the 4GB RAM whats the max that i can fit in?
And i would love to add a 256 GB SSD (if possible, dell offers only 128GB ones) while keeping the 500GB HD already inside.
Can i do that? or i have to choose only one module between a small SSD, a large HD and some 500GB hybrids dell offers in their support page.

There’s one ram slot, so you can only take out the 4GB module and insert an 8GB one. I’m not sure whether the rare 16GB modules are supported on this laptop. There’s only one storage bay so you can’t have both HDD and SSD. But you can get a DVD caddy, put an SSD in it as replace the DVD drive with it.

We bought a DELL Inspiron 15 3000 series model 3543 with intel core of i3-5005U processor 4 GB memory and 1 TB hard drive. It ha Windows 10. It keeps getting kicked off the wifi. None of the other devices, laptops in the house have this problem and we even shut the other devices down to see if it was just an overload to the modem, but still gets kicked off even when we use the hotspot on my phone instead of the cable modem.

I had this problem when my 3543 installed Windows 10 from Windows 8.1. No problem with WiFi with Windows 8.1. Spent literally weeks with Dell Support trying to troubleshoot the WiFi. In the end, switching back to Windows 8.1 was the only thing that worked.

Thanks for the detailed post. If I add 8GB module from outside, does it void warranty? Also after upgrading is any major improvement. I mainly use my Inspiron 3543 for browsing using chrome. I have 4GB ram. But it hangs.

If you don’t damage any internal part, the warranty will be still valid after adding RAM.

If RAM usage of your opened Chrome tabs and other programs exceed 4GB, then your system will start using your hard drive for RAM purposes which will slow down the system a lot. In that case, 8GB RAM will significantly improve performance. If you’re usage is always below 4GB, you won’t notice big difference after adding more memory.

Kind of lies here.
They say opening the service cover is easy like a breeze, ant that is blsht! There are some plastic locks that are so hard, that for me it is impossible to open the cover without damaging the chassis. I need a manual explaining a way to open it without breaking the laptop apart.

In this video they say that dell has limited the size of the HD to 1 TB, do you know if there is a size limitation for a SSD in this laptop? I´ve a 3542 and i wish to upgrade to a SSD of 500gb or a little bigger what model can you recommend?

These Intelligent Memory 16GB modules (type IMM2G64D3LSOD8AG-B15E) work on all laptops with the new Intel 5th generation Broadwell CPUs, but not on any older models.

The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 uses the 4th generation, so it does not work. But newer Dell Inspirons (released in 2015) are fine.
Check the CPU code! It always begins with i3, i5 or i7 and is then followed by a 4-digit number and a letter. If the 4-digit number starts with a 5 (for example i5-5200U), then it is 5th generation.

Do you know the exact Inspiron 14 model? There’s a plenty of them… If it’s one of the latest Inspiron 14 versions – the Inspiron 14 3000 3451 or 3458, they have slightly different bottom panel and HDD assembly, while RAM upgrade procedure is the same as on the described 15 3000. The panel is held by 2 screws instead of 1, while the HDD assembly is secured to the base with 4 screws instead of 1. More about it (and upgrade instructions for other models) can be found here: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/%7B%7Bprod.ImagePath%7D%7D/Products/laptop

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